Browsing Category: "Deals"
What would happen if a futon and a bean bag chair mated? Well, I discovered the answer when I received my Sumo Omni in the mail the other day. Yes, full disclosure, the Sumo was free. These are the perks of being a blogger. But I fully intend to write an honest assessment of the product. In fact, I solicited friends and family members to weigh in to ensure an honest review.
How would I describe the Sumo Omni?
It’s a large (4.5 by 5.5 feet) nylon sack filled with what feels like bean bag material that can be molded into different configurations. You can lay on it flat, fold it into a futon-like position, squish it into typical beanbag chair formation, etc. See for yourself at the website. If you can get past the cheesy, soft-core pornish image of a model giving a “come hither” look while suggestively straddling the Omni on the home page, the pictures are instructive on how to use the thing.
So, what did I think of it?
It really is surprisingly comfortable. I was a bit hesitant at first, as the rip- and stain-resistant fabric didn’t initially strike me as luxurious. But once I sat on it, I was hooked. Although you can make it into a variety of shapes, we seem to like it as is, laying it flat and lounging in front of the TV. The kids treat it as a big toy, alternatively jumping on and climbing all over it. In fact, I set my toddler on it, and turned around a few minutes later to find her asleep. While I would not recommend this as a kid bed for safety reasons, this just goes to show how comfortable it is. It’s large enough for more than one person to enjoy, but can be transformed into an individual seat. It’s perfect for a family/TV room, apartment, teen bedroom, etc. In theory it would be perfect for a dorm room, but since most dorm rooms are slightly smaller than the average closet, the Omni might be too big for it. The shear size of the thing could be a drawback for those with limited space. Also, the $129 price tag may scare some away. However, after a cursory look online for similar items, I was surprised that this price is actually cheaper than comparable items. For example, I saw some “extra large” bean bag cushions advertised for more than $200.
The bottom line is that I would highly recommend the Sumo Omni, although I must warn you that it promotes extreme laziness and lack of productivity. Not necesarily a bad thing for value investors waiting for a fat pitch.
Contest
If the Sumo Omni sounds like the thing for you, I’m actually giving one away for free. The generous folks at Sumo Lounge International offered me the opportunity to give away one free Sumo Omni to a reader of Fat Pitch Financials. You can win your very own Sumo Omni by leaving a comment below that discusses your favorite place to relax and your preferred Sumo Omni color. Be sure your comment includes a valid email address and the word “relax” so I can ensure that your comment doesn’t get screened out by my spam filter. This free Sumo Omni prize can only be shipped to the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. I will select one random comment on Sunday, November 11th at 5:00 PM. Your odds of winning will be determined by the number of entries I receive. Good luck.
The Wall Street Journal Online is free today. I just found out about this, so I thought I would share this opportunity with you. If you find any great value investing news while reading today’s Journal, be sure to share links to those articles by submitting them to Value Investing News.
I wonder if today’s free access has anything to do with the debut of the Fox Business Network yesterday. Nah, I’m sure it is just a coincidence. ;-)
If you like what you see today at WSJ.com, consider signing up for an online or home delivery subscription by clicking here.
I noticed today that the Wall Street Journal is accessible to the public free of charge through May 10th. This promotion celebrates their 10th anniversary of being online.
Free access sounds like a fat pitch to me… Maybe it will even help me find some fat pitch opportunities this week.
I just discovered on Controlled Greed that Barron’s Online is free this week. My subscription to the paper version of Barron’s is about to expire, so this is perfect timing for me. Actually, I’m kind of surprised that I received a Barron’s on my doorstep today.
If you enjoy music and spend a lot of time at your computer, I have two websites that you are really going to love. I’ve been relaxing to some great music this weekend for free thanks to Pandora and Last.fm. Both of these services allow you to create custom music channels tailored to your music preferences. They offer most of their features for free currently, plus there are no commercials at this time! Read the rest of this entry »
Some of the fattest financial pitches involve simple money saving opportunities. My wife recently found a great money saving opportunity to cope with her expanding belly. Yes, my wife is expecting another baby! In her own words, my wife shares her money saving discovery: Read the rest of this entry »
Update: This week reports for 10 companies with both dividend yield and dividend growth are available for free at www.morningstar.com/barrons2.html.
Originally posted on January 7, 2006.
As I started working my way through Barron’s today, I notice an ad by Morningstar. They are offering 15 free research reports on wide moat stocks that currently have their 5-star rating. No registration is required. You just have to visit www.morningstar.com/barrons1. (The link didn’t work in Firefox 1.5 for some reason, but it works in Internet Explorer.) The company research reports include:
I just noticed that Wall Street Journal Online is free this week. Apparently, this even includes Barron’s Online.
Read the rest of this entry »
Today is the first day that free annual credit reports are available in all states. You can request a credit report from each of the three major credit reporting companies. To get your credit report you can either call 1-877-322-8228 or go to AnnualCreditReport.com.
You can use your free credit reports to make sure there are no errors in your credit history. The credit reports are also an effective tool to monitor your credit activities to make sure that no one has stolen your identity and opened lines of credit in your name.
Take advantage of this free service. I’m sure many of you have had to pay for credit reports in the past. Now you can do it for free!
I have recently noticed some aggressive marketing by ISPs for high speed internet service. It seems like almost every day I receive some form of advertisement from Verizon for their new FIOS DSL service. I currently have Comcast cable home internet service for $42.95 a month. The service has been fairly reliable, and I’ve had it for quite some time. The only major issue I have with it is the price.
I decided to do something about it. I called up my local Comcast office. Going though the voice menu, I decided to select the option to remove a service. That resulted in me having to listen to classical music for several minutes.
When a human finally got on the line, I was determined to lower my bill or I was going to cancel my service. After answering a few questions, I was promptly put on hold. The service representative then came back on the line and offered me 12 months of service for $29.95 a month. I took the deal! The representative then tried to sell me a digital cable, which I declined.
The moral of the story is that it can’t hurt to ask for a price cut. I saved a total of $156 with a simple phone call.
